Thermal excitation of large charge offsets in a single-Cooper-pair transistor

Charge offsets and two-level fluctuators are common in single-electron transistors with a typical magnitude of | Δ Q | < 0.1 e . We present measurements in a 2 e -periodic single-Cooper-pair transistor which exhibited hysteretic charge offsets close to 1 e . The real-time capture and escape of in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2009-12, Vol.106 (12), p.124502-124502-11
Main Authors: Simkins, L. R., Rees, D. G., Glasson, P. H., Antonov, V., Collin, E., Frayne, P. G., Meeson, P. J., Lea, M. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed Matter
Mesoscopic Systems and Quantum Hall Effect
Physics
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Summary:Charge offsets and two-level fluctuators are common in single-electron transistors with a typical magnitude of | Δ Q | < 0.1 e . We present measurements in a 2 e -periodic single-Cooper-pair transistor which exhibited hysteretic charge offsets close to 1 e . The real-time capture and escape of individual electrons in metastable trapped states was measured at very low temperatures. This enabled the dynamics of the transitions to be investigated in detail, demonstrating thermal excitation to a hysteretic tunneling transition. We show that, allowing for the hysteresis, the metastable states are in thermal equilibrium with each other. The observed temperature dependence and hysteresis can be explained by the coupling of a two-level fluctuator to a quasiparticle trap.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.3266012